Coast driver reportedly shears off power pole

Police on Friday night arrested a 35-year-old Fort Bragg man who allegedly sheared off a Pacific Gas & Electric power pole while driving drunk, causing a power outage for about 5,200 customers within a five-block radius, according to authorities. Power was restored to about three-quarters of those households -- all but about 1,800 customers -- by about 5 a.m. Saturday, according to PG&E spokeswoman Jana Morris. She said power was expected to be restored to the last eight households that were still without power at 4 p.m. by the close of business Saturday.

The outage began at 11:22 p.m. Friday, according to Morris. At about the same time, Fort Bragg police found several power lines down and traced them to a 2008 Chevrolet Suburban that was trying to drive away from the scene, according to the Fort Bragg Police Department.

Officers were at first unable to get close to the vehicle because live power lines were down around it, the FBPD stated. Officers cleared the lines and arrested the driver, Jonatan Sastre-Cordova, on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Sastre-Cordova was reportedly headed east on Madrone Street when he hit a parked car hard enough to move it at least 10 feet onto the sidewalk, according to the FBPD. He drove another 30 feet and allegedly hit a main PG&E power pole for the area, shearing it off.

Sastre-Cordova then allegedly drove another 25 feet trying to leave the scene. His car had major front-end damage, and the front, passenger-side tire was ripped away from the axle, according to the FBPD.

The intersection of Madrone and Whipple streets was closed most of Friday while a PG&E crew from outside the area worked to replace the pole and lines.

Police secured the area until PG&E arrived and helped with traffic control for about three hours until a private company, Paulson Construction, arrived to handle the street closure while work continued, according to the FBPD.

PG&E reported at first that 2,600 customers were without power, but the number grew to 5,200 at the peak of the outage. The number was soon back down to 2,600, and declined as portions of the repair were completed, according to Morris.

"When there's an accident like this, we try to minimize any impact on customers as much as possible," Morris said.

Tiffany Revelle can be reached at udjtr@ukiahdj.com, on Twitter @TiffanyRevelle or at 468-3523.